Automatic lock slider for slide fasteners



Jan. 16, 1962 H. F. MANNING 3,016,592

AUTOMATIC LOCK SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Filed May 12, 1959 Tia. l. E.

3,9l6592 AUTQMATEQ MNJK SHEER FQR SlJlDE FASTENERS Harry E. Manning, Meadville, 12s., msignor to Talon, line, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed May 112, 1959, Ser. No. 812,773 7 Claims. (ill. 242tl5.l4)

This invention relates to sliders for slide fasteners and, more particularly, to an improved automatic lock slider therefor.

Various types of automatic lock sliders have been heretofore suggested and used and while most of these were practical and satisfactory for most purposes, they were entirely unsatisfactory for other purposes especially if garments or articles with which the sliders were incorporated were subjected to frequent laundering or pressing operations. Gftentimes the locking member of such sliders would become deformed or displaced from the slider body during pressing or laundering destroying the locking effect of the locking member and defeating the purpose for which. the locking member was intended, namely to lock the slider against unintentional movement along the fastener.

in many types of automatic lock sliders heretofore suggested and used, the pull member when not being held manually would tend to extend outwardly from the slider body substantially perpendicular thereto and held in such position due to inherent resilient characteristics of the locking spring member when the same was in its unlocked position. This condition often happened when the garment or article with which the fastener wa incorporated was laundered or during the pressing operation. This was objectionable for the reason that when the garment was being passed through wringer rolls or being pressed, the pull member of the fastener would be distorted and oftentimes the locking spring member would become damaged or totally displaced from the slider body thereby destroying its locking characteristic. Also, it is desirable that the locking prong of the locking memher be held out of locking engagement with fastener elements during laundering and pressing so as to permit the slider to move freely along the fastener elements, that is, by a stripping action and this is not characteristic of lock sliders of this type heretofore suggested and used. Accordingly, it is to an improved automatic lock slider which is constructed and arranged to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages that the present invention relates.

Accordingly, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a new and novel automatic lock slider construction wherein the pull member is free to move after the locking prong of the locking member has been moved out of engagement with the fastener elements in the slider channel thereby so that the P ll member will tend to lie flat against the slider body and not extend outwardly therefrom.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved automatic lock slider wherein there is provided means for holding the locking projection of the locking member out of engagement with the fastener elements in the slider channel when the pull member is released after the pull member has been moved to position to manipulate the slider so as to permit the slider to move freely along the fastener elements by a tearing action.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved automatic lock slider which consists of a minimum number of parts which can be easily and conveniently fabricated and assembled.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an improved automatic lock slider which is simple and inexpensive in its construction and, at the same time, etficient and effective in its use.

Various other objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent in the course of the following specification, and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

in the accompanying drawings, there is shown for the purpose of illustration, an embodiment thereof which my invention may assume in practice.

in these drawings:

PEG. 1 is a fragmentary view of a slide fastener having the improved automatic lock slider of the present invention incorporated therewith,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1 showing the locking member in its locked position,

FIG. 3 is a sectional View similar to FIG. 2 showing the locking member in its unlocked position,

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the locking member,

FIG. 5 is an end view thereof, and

HG. 6 is a side view of the same.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1, a conventional type slide fastener comprising a series of spaced-apart interlocking fastener elements 2 attached to opposed beaded edges of stringer tapes El. There is mounted on the fastener elements, the slider, generally designated at t, of the present in ention, for longitudinal movement therealong for engaging and disengaging the fastener elements in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. Such a slider consists generally of a body member having spaced-apart upper and lower wings 5 and 6, respectively, connected at the upper end thereof by a neck portion 7 so as to provide substantially a Y-shaped channel 3 within the slider body.

According to the present invention, there is provided a loop-like locking member ll which is made preferably of relatively thin, resilient metallic stock. On the upper end of this locking member 3, there is provided a relatively narrow finger-like extension iii which is disposed in a slot 12 in the neck portion 7 of the slider body. This finger-like extension is held in this slot 12 by the clamping action of the side walls l3 of the slot which are squeezed together around this extension.

On the extreme lower end of this locking member 9, there is arranged a locking projection l i which is disposed in an aperture 15 in the upper wing 5 of the slider body and which extends normally into the slider channel 8 for engagement with the fastener elements 2 therein to lock the slider against unintentional movement along the fastener elements in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. Above the locking projection i l, there is arranged in that end of the locking member 9, a resilient tongue-like portion or latch is which is struck up from the body of the locking member by slitting the material, as at 17, thereby providing an aperture 18 and a wall 19 in the locking member directly above the locking projection 14 for a purpose hereinafter to be described.

As will be seen, this tongue-lilac portion 15 is disposed inwardly of the body portion of the locking member 9 and the extreme lower end 20 thereof is adapted to rest, in one position as shown in FIG. 3, on the outer side of the upper wing 5 adjacent the aperture '15 therein for a purpose to be described. Intermediate the length of the tongue-like portion 15, there is provided a raised portion 21 which is adapted to act as a cam.

There is provided a movable pull member 22 having a transversely extending trunnion portion 23 at one end thereof substantially trapezoidal in cross section which also is adapted to act as a cam. This trunnion portion 23 is disposed between the inner side of the locking member 9 and the outer side of the upper wing 5. There is struck up from the body of the upper wing adjacent the neck portion 7, a lug-like portion 24 with which the trunnion portion 23 of the pull member is adapted to co-operate in a manner to be described. There is also provided another lug-like portion 25 at the lower side of the locking member 9 which is also struck up from the body of the upper wing and which extends into the aperture 13 in the locking member and co-operates with the wall 19 thereof to limit the outward movement of the lower end of the locking member together with the locking projection 14 carried thereby.

Having described the construction of my improved au tomatic lock slider, the function thereof will now be described. It will be assumed that the pull member 22 is its normal position parallel to the wings and 6, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the locking projection 14 disposed in the slider channel 8 and with the lower end 22 of the resilient tongue-like portion 16 extending into the aperture 15 in the upper wing 5 of the slider body. In such position, it will be seen that the trapezoidal trunnion cam portion 23 abuts the lug-like portion 24-, as at 26, which acts as a bearing point or fulcrum and that the opposite side of the trunnion portion contacts the inner side of the tongue-like portion 16 below the raised portion 21 thereof, as at 27.

*When it is desired to move the slider 4 along the fastenor elements 2. to engage or disengage the fastener elements so as to open or close the fastener in a well known manner, the pull member 22 is grasped and moved outwardly from the slider body about its bearing point 26 to a position substantially shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. As the pull member is moved to such position, it will be seen that the cam trunnion portion 23 moves over and past the pimple or raised portion 211 of the tongue-like portion 16 and out of contact momentarily therewith. Thus, as a result, it will be seen that the tongue-like portion 16 is permitted to move inwardly due to its resilient characteristics and does move inwardly so that the extreme end 2% thereof rests on the outer side of the upper wing 5 adjacent the aperture 15 therein. Also, it will be seen that on the movement of the lower end of the locking member 9 by the pull member, the locking projection will be moved out of the slider channel 8, thereby permitting the slider to move freely along the fastener elements. It will be understood that this tongue-like or latch portion 16 positively holds the locking projection in its unlocked position until the pull member is released.

When the pull member is released to again lock the slider against movement, the pull member 22 again moves to the position as shown in FIG. 2 against the slider substantially parallel to the wings 5 and 6 thereof. In moving to such position, it will be seen that the cam trunnion portion 23 thereof again contacts the pimple or raised portion 21 of the tongue-like portion is thereby tending to move the same into the plane of the tongue-like portion, thereby permitting the extreme end of the same to move into the aperture 15 and the locking projection 2%) to move into the slider channel.

Attention is called to the fact that when the pull member is disposed in the position as shown in FIG. 3 the cam trunnion portion 23 thereof is out of contact with the inner side of the locking member 9 thereby permitting the pull member to move freely in either direction so that any destruction forces to which it might be subjected tends to move the pull member in a direction toward the slider body whereby any danger of displacement of the locking member is reduced to a minimum which is one of the most important aspects of the present invention.

As a result of my invention, it will be seen that there is provided a new and novel automatic lock slider for slide fasteners which consists of a minimum number of parts, namely, three, and in which the parts are so constructed and arranged that any danger of damage to the slider or parts due to pressing or laundering is practically eliminated. It will also be seen that the slider is free to move along the fastener elements when the pull member disposed in an extended position which is a decided 4, advantage in this type of slider, a fact well known to those skilled in the art.

While I have shown and described an embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purpose of illustration and description, and that other forms may be devised within the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a lock slider for slide fasteners, a slider body comprising a pair of spaced-apart wing portions interconnected at one end by a neck portion so as to provide a channel therebetween, a yieldable, inherently resilient, plate-like locking member mounted on one of said wing portions centrally thereof, means for attaching one end of said locking member to said slider body, a locking projection arranged on the opposite free end of said locking member which extends normally through an aperture in said wing portion into said slider channel, means attached to said locking member adjacent said locking projection and movable relative thereto which cooperates with said wing for temporarily arresting in one position the movement of said locking projection into said slider channel, a pull member having a transversely extending trunnion portion on one end thereof which is positioned between said locking member and said wing portion on which it is disposed, said trunnion portion adapted to control the actuation of said last mentioned means upon movement of said pull member.

2. In a lock slider for slide fasteners, the combination as defined in claim 1, including a cam portion carried by said trunnion portion for controlling the actuation of said last mentioned means.

3. in a lock slider for slide fasteners, a slider body comprising a pair of spaced-apart Wing portions interconnected at one end by a neck portion so as to provide a channel therebetween, a yieldable, inherently resilient, plate-like locking member mounted on one of said wing portions centrally thereof, means for attaching one end of said locking member to said slider body, a locking projection arranged on the opposite free end of said locking member which extends normally through an aperture in said wing portion into said slider channel, a resilient tongue-like portion struck up from the body of said locking member and extending inwardly thereof directly above said locking projection substantially parallel thereto, the extreme free end of said tongue-like portion adapted to extend into the aperture in said wing together with said projection, a pull member having a transversely extending trunnion portion on one end thereof which is positioned between said locking member and said wing portion on which it is disposed, said tongue-like member adapted to move out of said aperture and inwardly of said locking member due to the inherent resiliency thereof when the pull member is moved to a position substantially angularly to the slider to manipulate the same so that the extreme end thereof rests on the outer side of said wing portion thereby arresting the movement of said locking projection into said slider channel, said trunnion portion adapted to co-operate with the tongue-like portion to move the extreme end thereof out of contact with said wing and so as to permit it to move into said aperture and the locking projection into said slider channel when the pull member is moved to position substantially parallel to said slider wing.

4. In a lock slider for slide fasteners, a slider body comprising a pair of spaced-apart wing portions interconnected at one end by a neck portion so as to provide a channel therebetween, a yieldable, inherently resilient, plate-like locking member mounted on one of said wing portions centrally thereof, means for attaching one end of said locking member to said slider body, a locking projection arranged on the opposite free end of said locking member which extends normally through an aperture in said wing portion into said slider channel, a resilient tongue-like portion struck up from the body of said locking member and extending inwardly thereof directly above said locking projection substantially parallel thereto, the extreme free end of said tongue-like portion adapted to extend into the aperture in said wing together with said projection, a pull member having a transversely extending trunnion portion on one end thereof which is positioned between said locking member and said wing portion on which it is disposed, a cam portion carried by said trunnion portion, means carried by said wing portion against which one side of said cam is disposed and which acts as a bearing therefor, means carried by said tongue-like member on the inner side thereof with which the opposite side of said cam portion co-operates to move said tongue-like member, said tongue-like member adapted to move out of said aperture and inwardly of said locking member due to the inherent resiliency thereof when the pull member is moved to one position to manipulate the slider so that the extreme end thereof rests on the outer side of said wing portion thereby arresting the movement of said locking projection into said slider channel.

5. In a lock slider for slide fasteners, the combination as defined in claim 4, wherein the means carried by the wing portion against which one side of the cam is disposed consists of a lug-like portion struck up from said wing portion.

6. In a lock slider for slide fasteners, the combination as defined in claim 4, including means for limiting the outward movement of the free end of said locking memher.

7. In a lock slider for slide fasteners, the combination as defined in claim 6, wherein the means for limiting the outward movement of the free end of the locking member consists of a lug-like portion struck up from the wing portion with the end thereof disposed in an aperture in said tongue-like portion directly above said locking projection.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,197,690 Gay Apr. 16, 1940 2,373,523 Winterhalter Apr. 10, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 209,798 Australia June 11, 1957 34,821 France Oct. 10, 1929 (1st Addition of No. 641,389) 647,329 France Nov. 22, 1928 

